Locking and interlocking attachment for sidewalk elevator-doors.



--No. 763,609 PATENTED JUNE 28, 1904.

P. H. JACKSON. LOCKING AND INTERLOGKING ATTACHMENT FOR SIDEWALK ELEVATOR DOORS.

APPLIOATIOK FILED D30. 22. 1903.

no MODEL.

- Inventor;

puns my. mama-Linn, wAsumnmup. C,

z ww 6,,

UNITED STATES Patented June 28, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

LOCKING AND INTERLOCKING ATTACHMENT FOR SIDEWALK ELEVATOR-DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,609, dated June 28, 1904.

Application filed December 22, 1903. Serial No. 186,180. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known-that I, PETER H. JAoKsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Franciscoand State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Locking and Interlocking Attachments for Sidewalk Elevator-Doors, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in means for locking and unlocking doors such as are closable horizontally upon sidewalks or other places, and especially when used in conjunction with elevators which run between the basement and sidewalk-level.

The object of this invention is to lock and unlock such doors without requiring the operator to be upon the rising or falling platform; and it consists of automatically-interlocking hook-shaped latches, one of said latches being weighted andhaving a connection by which it may be disengaged from the other to allow the doors to be opened as the elevator rises.

It also comprises details of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view showing the application of my device. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the locking device. Fig. 3 is a side view of same.

As shown in the drawings, A is the framework of an elevator or like hatchway, such as are usually set into the sidewalks for the purpose of communicating with elevators which are adapted to move a short distance from the basement-floor to the sidewalk-surface. Such elevators are usually operated by hydraulic or like pressure, and the doors which close over the elevators may be locked in various ways when the work of the day isover to prevent the ingress of unwarranted persons. The locking devices have often been made so that in order to unlock the doors a person must ride up on the elevator to a point near enough to reach the lock or. latch; but it has often occurred that by inability to unlock the doors with sufficient rapidity the rising elevator has crushed the person upon it by reason of the doors remaining closed. Various devices have been employed, such as shown in my own previous patent, No. 648,624, May 1, 1900, consisting of a bail which is carried by the elevator-platform and adapted to first disengage the locking device and afterward to open the elevator-doors. It is, however, desirable to provide some device by which any doors of this description may be automatically locked upon the instant of closure and independent'of the movement of the platform.

The doors 2 are hinged upon each side of the elevator-frame A, and one of the doors overlaps an edge projecting from the other, so that the-latter being first closed the other will hold it in position when locked. To the sides of this overlapping door are fixed'the hooks 3. These hooks are preferably made of stout iron or steel and are bent at right angles at the upper end, the bent portion being parallel with the door-surface and perforated to receive bolts or rivets, by which it is firmly secured to the door.

4 is a latch pivoted or fulcrumed upon the side of the door-frame or a downward extension thereof, and this latch is so placed that when the doors are closed it will swing so as to engage automatically with the latch 3, and thus retain the doors locked. In order to cause the automatic operation of these latches upon the closing of the door, I have shown the latch t having a portion 4* extending transversely or at right angles with the vertical portion and a weighted and preferably downwardly-extending portion 5 at the outer end of the part i. This latch being pivoted, as shown at 6, the weight will normally swing the hook portion A into such position that it will always engage with the part 3 when the latter has passed it, the beveled or inclined contacting faces of the two acting to swing the latch 4 in this manner, and as soon as the engaging heads have passed each other the weighted portion 5 will cause the latch 4 to swing into engagement with 3. Thus there will be no necessity for any one attending to the locking of the doors, as the operation will be automatically performed whenever the doors are closed.

In some cities there are local laws against allowing persons to ride upon the elevator for the purpose of unlocking the doors on account of such accidents as previously described. I have therefore shown a cord or equivalent connection 7 fastened to the bottom of the extension 5, passing outwardly and over a pulley or equivalent guide upon the doorframe, so that this cord will be within easy reach of a person standing upon the floor of the basement. Thus by pulling the cord and afterward starting the elevator the latter may rise and the doors can be opened by any suitable means, such as the bail carried by the elevator and shown in my former patent, No. 648,624, May 1, 1900, in which case the elevator-doors are automatically opened by the rising of the platform. It is preferable to latch both ends of the door, and the cords from each of the weighted levers may be united and led to a point convenient to the operator, so that by pulling one cord bothlatches can be simultaneously disengaged. If it be desired to maintain the doors unlocked for any purpose, a weight may be hung upon the end of the cord, which will hold the swinging latches out of engagement with those carried by the door.

In order to automatically unlatch the door, projections 8 may be attached to the platform of the elevator, and these projections are so placed that when the elevator has risen to near the doors the projections will contact with the latch-lever 5 and swing it out of engagement with the latch 3. In this manner the door may be unlatched by the upwardlyj moving elevator-platform without the attention of the operator.

As the doors are often dropped with considerable force, the latches will be forced violently backward, and in order to limit the backward movement of the latches I have shown stops, as at 9, against which the upper part of the latch will strike when it is thus thrown back, and in order to prevent the weighted arm 5 from swinging the latch forward when the doors are opened to such an extent that it would fail to engage with the catch 3 I have shown a stop at 10, against which the part of the latch below its fulcrum will strike when the catch 3 has been disengaged and the latch hanging free. By these two stops I am enabled to so limit the swinging movement of the latch that it will always be in position to engage with the door-catch and cannot be thrown out or disarranged by a violent closing of the doors Various "modifications of this device may be employed without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a horizontally-closing sidewalk-door, of a catch fixed thereto and projecting into the space beneath, an elevatorplatform movable in said space, a swinging latch pivoted to a fixed point within said space, said latch being automatically engaged by the door-catch when the door is closed, and means on the elevator-platform for automatically releasing said latch.

2. The combination with ahorizontally-closing sidewalk-door and the frame thereof, of an elevator-platform, catches fixed to the door extending downwardly contiguous to the doorframe, latches pivoted to the frame so as to engage with the door-catches as the latter pass, said latches having weighted arms extending to one side of their pivotal points whereby the engagement of the latches and catches is automatically efiected, and means operatable by the elevator-platform to automatically release the latches.

3. The combination with a sidewall -door,its frame and a vertically-movable elevator-platform of catches fixed to the door projecting downwardly contiguous to the frame, corresponding latches pivoted to the frame having weighted arms extending to one side of the fulcrum-points of the latches whereby said latches and catches are automatically engaged when the door is closed, projections or lugs carried by the elevator-platform adapted to contact with the latch-arms and disengage the latches and catches.

L. The combination with a hatchway and the frame thereof, of a hinged door for the hatchway, locking means including a catch fixed to the door and a pivoted latch on the frame to engage said catch, when the door is closed, and an elevator-platform and means thereon for automatically releasing said latch.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER H. JACKSON.

WVitnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, JEssIE C. BRODIE. 

